U.S. Attorney candidates

A local panel formed by the White House has recommended Thomas O'Brien, chief of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney's office here, and Sidley Austin partner Kimberly A. Dunne for the post of top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, today's Daily Journal reports. Republican power brokers Gerald L. Parsky and Eric M. George will make the final recommendations, but it's unknown whether the Bush Administration will take the guidance or appoint someone with closer ties to the White House, the paper says. Other candidates also being considered, per the Daily Journal, include Juan Zarate, a deputy assistant to President Bush and the White House's terrorism czar; Daniel P. Collins, partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson; Uttam S. Dhillon, an official at the Department of Homeland Security who sought the U.S. attorney position in 2002; Nathan J. Hochman, former assistant U.S. attorney who is in private practice in Los Angeles; and Daniel B. Levin, counsel at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in Washington. (Subscribers only)